Taking A Well-Deserved Break From Some Bad Habits

I won’t lie. The last 20 minutes was spent looking in the mirror at my forehead and fresh crop of zits. How old do you have to be for the acne to stop?? GAH!! Late nights, too many champagnes, subsisting on hors d’oeuvres at events have left me feeling and looking ragged.

A self-described night owl, I seem to have gotten comfortable falling asleep on the couch, potato chip half in mouth. Overworking (and a terrible diet lately) has left me completely devoid of motivation and energy too. It’s time to make some damn changes.

Some recent developments in my life including sickness in my family have left me devoid of motivation. This isn’t like me, so I am taking some time to pause and take stock of my life. So many great things are happening to me right now that I want to be healthy and present enough to enjoy them. So, I’m implementing a few new rules and taking a vacation from some bad habits that are bringing me down. Hopefully, they will inspire you also to live your life to the fullest without a host of crappy vices.

Bad Habits I’m Kicking To The Curb

Bad Habit #1: Spending

My spending seems to have gotten out of control. I blame my Happy Clicking Finger that is ohhhh soooo goood at finding pretty wearable things online. With all of my closets burgeoning with clothes and shoes, it’s time to dial the spending down and bit. After all, Christmas is going to sneak up on me lightning fast and Mama needs cash to buy her puppy all sorts of dumb stuff (Mental Note: stop buying dumb stuff).

There are a few things that I really need, like a new car and a laptop. I have also been investing in some really worthy things for my blog’s back end that will ensure its continued success. Regarding the new car, I can’t roll up to Ford and pay for a new car in shoes (I’m still dreaming of this dreamy Mustang featured here). It’s time to buckle down and start dumping money in my high-return TFSA again, as opposed to depositing $11 in three months. Yep. That happened.

Bad Habit #2: Drinking

I LOVE WINE, ok? Red, white, rosé…prosecco, bubbly, spritzers, sangria…OH GOD…I love wine! That initial sip makes me swoon. And is there anything better than a fine Syrah with a good steak? I think not.

LAtely though, I’ve been relying a little too heavily on wine to relax. And I the constant flow of bubbly at events makes me feel guilty. Wine also affects my sleep and I’m sick of laying awake at 4am ruminating about how much wine I had earlier (see Ruminating below).

Then there are the negative beauty effects. Two or three wines in the evening means dull, dehydrated skin in the morning. So, I’m replacing wine with herbal teas, sparkling water….and just plain old water. Boring, yes…healthy? Double yes. My skin already looks better (promise), and the restful sleeps are doing me and my soul some real good.

Are you a ruminator like me? Replaying the day’s events with a negative spin is apparently my favourite past-time lately.

“Are you using a new eyebrow pencil?” is quickly translated in my brain to “What the hell did she mean by that?”

“Can you add a paragraph to this briefing note to further flesh out those bullet points?” forces me to think “God – I’m a terrible writer. I should have though of that. My boss is going to fire me.”

“Your dog is so shaggy!” is interpreted by my hamster brain as “SCREW YOU! DON’T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY DOG!” Well, that one may be a bit of an exaggeration.

I’m tired of thinking this way and I know I need to really take things at face value. There is no point in replaying things like this constantly as it just wears you down and frankly, no good comes from it. When you start ruminating, try to stop it in its tracks by actually saying “STOP!”, and move on to something else. Think about the good that happened that day, or things that make you feel warm and fuzzy. Trust me…it works. And when you start to feel good, the ruminating tends to stop.

Night-Owlness

Not getting enough sleep is something that I have struggled with my whole life. For me, the world starts getting fun post-5pm. I like to go out with my girls for cocktails (sigh – more drinking) during Happy Hour, and watching Crave until the wee hours in the morning is a favourite past-time. I just finished re-watching the entire Sex And The City series and the late nights doing this kinda took a toll on my energy levels. Side note: was Carrie Bradshaw always that annoying??? Poor Aidan.

I am a zombie in the mornings and I’m sick of being late constantly (for everything). I enlisted the help of my husband to force me into bed at a reasonable hour. Starting slow, I started crawling into bed at 11pm instead of 1am. And then 10:30pm…followed by 10pm.

All of this “loving extra sleep” was spurred by the massive power outage we had thanks to the Ottawa tornado that wiped out our electricity for days. There was nothing to do but sit around, read books, eat and well, sleep. For three straight days, I went to bed at 9pm and managed to get in excess of 10 hours of sleep a night. That was unheard of for me. One day, I got 14 hours sleep!! I awoke to Ryan shaking me wondering if I was dead.

You know what else happened? I felt better. My mood soared along with my energy levels, and those dark undereye circles were seriously minimized.

Overworking

A typical day for Dom looks like this:

Wake up too late.

Cuddle Reese.

All of the coffee.

Rush to work.

Work 9-5.

Go to event.

Rush home.

Cuddle Reese. Kiss husband.

Blog/edit photos/do admin stuff until some ridiculous hour.

Pass out.

Repeat.

This lifestyle has left me drained. The number one thing that helped me – mainly as a blogger – was starting an editorial calendar and sticking to it. I can now see in advance what I have to write and when, which photos I need to take, and when the events are happening. This allows me to work in some much needed down time.

During my down time, I exercise, plan meals, take long baths, walk the dog and spend time with my best friend/husband. We’ll enjoy each other’s company and do fun things together. It’s really nice to get reconnected with both myself, my husband and my friends…it truly fills the soul.

So, many of these tips I’ve instilled into my daily routine for the month of October. In fact, I tried to go booze-free in October but succumbed to a glass of champagne at an event. I guess everuthing in moderation!

Do you have any bad habit that you are trying to kick? Please share in the comments!

8 Comments

OMG! I thought I was the only one. My skin has literally been screaming at me (in forms of acne) because I’ve forsaken water as a drink and replaced with coffee. The sleep department is dependent on my 18 month old so that’s that but yea add ruminating ( which I didn’t know was a word until now) and yip that’s me. I need to change these habits fast.

Hey Sandy! Thanks for reading! The first step in ending ruminating is identifying. And girl…I live for that first cup of coffee in the morning! LOL! I’m going lactose-free too, and substituting my beloved cream with almond milk. BLECH. It’s making me hate coffee so hopefully I’ll kick that vice soon too. LOL!

I met you at the Dress for success AWE conference this past Saturday. First of all, great presentation on dressing to impress! Secondly, I loved your jacket and had to track you down to find out where you got it from. Do you mind sharing?

Hi Ammie! Thank you SO MUCH for your kind words! Speaking at the Dress For Success event was an absolute highlight of the year! It really filled my heart and I’m so happy you like my presentation! That jacket is from Zara. Sadly, I purchased it two years ago and it is no longer available. Keep your eye on the Zara website though. They are always offering up great blazers and jackets! Take care and thanks for reading!

This is one of my favourite posts Dom. I can relate to every word you said. I think many women can.
I have recently made some major changes to my behavior and bad habits as well….I think I used a glass of wine or two as an end of the day reward….not sure as to what I was rewarding myself for🤔 ….. it really was just a bad habit.
I am going to try and post this on my Twitter. ❤
Mel xo

Hi Mel! Thank you so much for reading my post. It really means a lot. I have no willpower these days, and that bugs me. I really need to buckle down and stick to my goals! Regarding rewarding yourself with wine, I completely feel you. Sigh. I’m trying to replace the wine with bubblebaths. LOL! Thanks for reposting! You’re the best!

Everything you said here, it’s me except for one thing I don’t have a dog anymore! Drinking too much spending too much and not getting enough rest, The Big Three I call it. For the past 2 months though I’ve been getting in bed no later than 10:30. As opposed to 12 and 1 a.m. My hours at work vary but for the most part I start very early and end the day late evening. By the time I get home all I want to do is watch YouTube videos catch up on blogs, sip wine to relax and stay up extremely late. So yes, those who commented we are all in this together! Good luck everyone 🙂 and thanks Dominique for your tips and insight